Trampolene - "Just stay in the house and listen to some records and wank yourself off.”

In a cosy little nook in the basement of The Magnet is where I find myself sat closely to Jack Jones, and opposite Rob Steele of Trampolene. In Jones’s erratic, yet ultimately open style, the first thing that comes through the recording of the interview is: “Testing, testing. I like the fact that you’ve written them [the questions] down on paper, no it’s good, doctor’s handwriting.”

Though Trampolene is where Jones’ heart is, he is admired for both his poetic efforts, and his out-and-out lyrical prowess. But when asked about the difference between his poems and his lyrics, Jones confers: “There are some lines,” he thinks for a moment, “You know like in a bravadoish way that I like something. I think like that line, not introspective it doesn’t work for me even like a line in a poem. But as a song that you’re sharing with people and everyone likes it.”

He talks of the effect that using bravado in lyricism can have on people watching the band, “It’s like a light shining on them for a moment in a song but I don’t know lots of other songs, mostly probably would be more introspective really.”

Yet it is this mix between being an introverted lyricist, in an outward facing band with a message that draws a similarity to the likes of Joy Division. Though their songs can be about love, it is the grit in the songs, and the poetry that features throughout their EP that says punk. Jones explained: “imagine going to see John Cooper Clarke opening for Joy Division, like that blows my mind, the thought behind me being in this band, imagine being that in one act.”

Trampolene moved from a fairly closed community in Wales to the big smoke in London. It is this cultural shift that one could imagine influenced the band’s sound wholly. This difference between picking one another up, to the hustle and bustle of the capital that could have been what made the band at their most angry, and ultimately most raucous.

However, Jones said: “I think I was just a very angry boy though as well, I moved because I was fucking angry, I got where I wanted to go and I was still fucking angry, and I’m sat here right now, and I’m still fucking angry. I have no fucking idea what about or what I’m even doing in my life, but I can’t help it, it’s like maybe it’s a kind of born into me from somewhere else I don’t know.”

And then on the idea of moving down south all doe-eyed, Jones said: “There were huge frustrations and anger about moving to London because you know I moved there in September and I thought we’d have a record deal by December.”

But with that genuine influence in their sound, compared to other bands working under the punk moniker, the question is whether some of it is actually disingenuous, and some of it real. Jones agreed: “You can tell if someone’s sincere and someone means it. I don’t know, it’s er, you know, but then you see bands, the kind of bands that do well are very middle of the road, it’s like a wash of beige.”

But as things are really kicking off for their peers, Cabbage, Jones, almost brimming with pride for his friends, said: “I suppose Cabbage are doing that thought they’re going to take on the social banner. They’ve got some really strong team behind them so it’s less of a risk for a record label, so see where that goes, and where it takes them I guess.”

Trampolene have been known for their time away from the Internet in the early days. It was interesting to hear Jones talk of his time away from the internet so fondly, “It certainly gives you time, some of the things I did I can’t believe it. I can’t believe the songs and poems and everything, you know. I’m living off the joys of that pasture now you know, there’s some stuff that I’ve done no-one’s even heard which I believe is the point in the whole thing.”

As we’re talking some terrible music starts playing in the background as the venue’s doors have just opened, “What song is this? Is this some sort of Slipknot of something? Or is it, what are those bands from Sheffield that aren’t Arctic Monkeys? Bring Me The Horizon?” He laughs nonchalantly and says: “I don’t mind them, they’re a bit of fun.”

On the case of those kinds of bands, and indeed Trampolene’s song, ‘It’s Not Rock N Roll’, Jones agreed that the style is being used as a vehicle as opposed to its genuine meaning. Rob confirmed, “It seems to me with those bands that they’re almost trying to write songs in order to sound like something, whereas, you use Catfish and The Bottlemen. I’ve heard a bit of their stuff they’ve got some catchy tunes and you can’t deny that, but they’re pop songs with guitars aren’t they.”

Jones then went on to explain how important playing live is to them, by saying: “It blows me away why people enjoy like going to watch a band that are all clicked up with backing tracks and stuff, it makes now sense to me, you may as well just stay in the house and listen to some records and wank yourself off.”

He continued: “So like you know, when you see us, everything is played, everything is real, every fuck up is true as any perfect notes, you know. And when we decide half way through a song, we’re going to play a different song you know that’s my fault.” Rob laughed, “It’s always your fault”.

The duo were then asked about any musical figures they think would be worth mentioning, they both instantly agreed that Mikey of This Feeling has been a massive help. But as far as new music goes, when faced with the upcoming Festevol poster, Jones said, amongst other things, “I’ve heard that band The Amazons, and I’ve never been so shocked to hear something I just listen to them and I almost turn beige.”

Yet from the poster, he decided that due to some of the funny names, his bill of choice for a gig would be, “Cabbage, Dream Wife, St Jude The Obscure, Pink Kink and Lying Bastards”. Jones, however, is not done with The Amazons, “The Amazons: It just blows me away that people get behind that stuff, it’s just people seem to get behind that stuff.”